Drying machine



Dec. 9, 1924- DRYING MACHINE Filed Dec. 24, 192;

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec; 9,1924;

G. W. HEDSTROM DRYING 11110111111:

Filed beg. 24, 192;

5 Sheets-Sheet 3 QZ7ze/7zfo7i' Q2219 667 far/71 G. W. HEDSTROM DRYING MACHINE Filed Dec. 24, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 G. W. HEDSTROM Dec. 9 2

DRYING MACHI NE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 24, 192;

' Patented Dec. 9, 1924.

UNITED STA Tss PATENT OFFICE.

eus'rav w. nnns'rnon, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIGNoRor ONE-HALF To PETER w.

- runrom), or cnrcneo, ILLINOIS.

DRYING Application filed December T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAV \V. Hnos'rnonr, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Drying Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in drying machines for drying the thin coatings of sealing compound on the flanges of can ends, there placed for the purpose of insuring the sealing 'of'the joint between the can body and the can ends when the grooved ends are seamed over the body of the can. v

The resent invention relates to that type of mac ine wherein the can ends are mov through a drying chamber by the coaction of a. pair or pairs of threaded lifter shafts, on the threads of a pair of which a can end rests, and by which the can ends are moved through a dryin chamber as the shafts of each pair of shafts, bearing like threads, are caused to rotate in the same direction by suitable driving mechanism.

One of the objects of the invention is to providenovel means for adjusting a machine of this type for operating on different diameter can. ends, which consists in mounting the screw shafts in such a way that through swinging movements of the supports for said shafts in short arcs, the

, shafts are caused to move toward and from each other.

Another object of an. invention is to provide novel means for transferring the can ends from the screw shafts after they have passed through the heating. chamber to a chute by which they are transmitted from the drying machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel means for admitting hot air between and impinging it against the can ends to dry the sealing compound thereon.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a machine of this character a plurality of pairs of such lifter shafts which are enclosed in a suitable drying chamber and in which the shafts of each pair are caused to rotate in the proper direction on MACHINE.

24, 1923. Serial No. 682 412.

their own axes, and all-pairs of shafts are caused to revolve about the center of the assembly by suitable driving means.

Other objects of the invention are to further improve and simplify drying machines of this general type, andthemvention consists in the elements and combination of ele'' ments' shown in the drawings and described in the specification, and is pointed out in the appended claims. v

In the machine herein illustrated and constituting one embodiment of the invention, the drying chamber is upright, and the lifter shafts rotate on vertical axes-and revolve about the central, vertical axis of the machine, but it is to be understood that the embodiment herein shown is intended to be illustrative and not limitativc.

As shown in the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a drying machine, embodying my invention, with parts broken away to show interior constructions.

"Figure 2 is a section-on the line 2-2 of V Fi re 1.

igure 3 is a transverse section of the dry- .ing machine on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a transverse section in a lower plane taken on the section indicating line '4=-4= of Figure 2.

- Figure 5 is a detail section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Figure '6 is a detail section on the line 6-6 of Figure 2, looking upwardly.

Figure 7 is a end of one of the lifter shafts.

Figure 8 is a diagram of associated lifter shafts with a can end therebetween.

Figure 9 is a plan view of a modification of the driving gears.

Each end lifter unit, consisting of a pair of deep threaded lifter shafts and the supporting, adjusting and driving means therefor, is essentially a duplicate of other units, with a number of units disposed symmetrically aboutithe axis of revolution of the units, and the description of one unit constitutes ample disclosure of all the other units. A single unit will first be described, after which their assembly in the complete machine, including a common driving means for rotating the lifter shafts of each pair and for revolving said pairs about the axis of the drying chamber, will be set forth.

Each unit includes two deep, like hand.

detail of the upper bearing '90 threaded shafts 10, 10, the reduced ends 11, 11 of which aremounted for rotation in upper and lower pairs of arms 14, 14 and 15, 15, the. former located above the top of the drying chamber and the latter at the bottom of said chamber. Each upper and lower air of arms is pivoted to a stud 16 carried: respectively, by upper and lower reyolvin' members (the plate 21 and gear 29), as wi more clearly hereinafter appear, whereby the outer or free ends of said arms and the'intermediate bearin s 14', carried thereby, and in which" t 1e lifter shafts are rotatively mounted, can be so moved towards and away from each other to adapt a pair of lifter shafts to different diameter can ends 0. The-mounting and ad ustmg arms for the upper and lower ends of the shaft are substantially duplicates, except as to slight details as will soonappear, and provision is made for their adJustment and for locking them in adjusted positions by pair pan be\made principally straight and the locking screws 18 canlikewise enter.- threaded openings in the lower plate 29,-

means'of transverse slots 17 through which extendflocking screws 18. The outer slotted ends of the'upper pairs of arms 14 are down-t irned, as shown in Figure 2, and said screws 18 are engaged in suitable threaded openings in the plate 21; the ofi'sets in said arms providing space between them and the plate 21 for driving gearing, as will hereinafter appear. The arms 15 of the lower which as herein shown consists of a flat, horizontal toothed gear that is driven by external power ,and carries the plurality of pairs of shafts 1Q about the center of the machine. The shafts 10 and their bearings, constitute parts of the means to connect said gear 29 and top plate 21 to cause the latter to rotate. Said threaded'lifter shafts are preferably tubular and the reduced bearing ends '11 may consist of separately formed,l.solid studs which may be fixed to the endsof the shafts, as by pinning them thereto (Figure 7).

Said reduced stud ends '11 of the lifter shafts extend through arcuate slots 20 in said rotating top plate 21, said slots being of dimensions to permit thegrequisite angu lar adjustment 0 the lifter-i shaft carrying arms.

\Vith this construction, and assuming that there be but a single unit comprising a pair of said lifter shafts 10, and suitable means for rotating them on their axes, it will be seen that when a can end C is laced between said pair its periphery wi 1 lap over and be supported on the threads of the shaft. Therefore, when the shafts are rovtated in the same direction, said can end will be raised through the drying chamber as the shafts are rotated in the directions indicated by the arrows in Figures 3 and 4.

- screws 18.

It will also be observed that said lifter' shafts can be adjusted towards and from is located between and radially inside of each pair of shafts to prevent the can ends passing inwardly beyond said lifter shafts. Each said guide bar is mounted at its lower end on the gear plate 29 and extends upwardly through the drying chamber to engage the inner. edges of can ends as they are lifted in stack formation throughthe drying chamber in the manner hereinafter described. Said guide bars are adjustable toward and from the can ends in stack position by being inserted in radial slots 36 in said gear plate, the lower ends of,-the bars being reduced in their parts that extend through said slots to-forin downwardly facing shoulders on the bars between which and nuts 36, threaded on said reduced portions, the guide bars may be locked in adjusted posit-ions. f 4"- The gear late 29, hercinbefore referred to, is rotatet about its axis in the direction indicated by the arrow on Figure 3 through the pinion 32 which meshes with the teeth of said gear plate and is fixed to the upper end of a vertical shaft 37 suitably mounted in a bearing 37' which-is made part of one of the hangers 30, which latter are fixed to and depend from the bed 30 to support a horizontal driving shaft 38; Said driving shaft is connected to the pinion shaft by beveled gears 39 and 40 and is provided with a driving pulley 41. Said can plate rotates about a fixed shaft 43 w ich is anchored in the bed 30 and extends upwardly, and the marginal portion of said gear ring is supported on a rather narrow annular upwardly facing seat 30 of said bed 30 (Figure 2). The structure is supported on standards 42, 42 rigidly bolted to the bed.

The said gear 29, so driven by the pinion 32. operates to revolve the annular series of angularly spaced units about their axis of revolution. and also to severally rotate said lifter shafts, through the coaction of a fixed gear 45 with the gear 29. fixed gear 45 is located above th plate 21 and is fixed to the upper end of the stationary vertical shaft 43 before referred to. Said shaft constitutes a central bearing for the gear plate 29, and is held fixedly clamped in the hub 46 of said bed plate between a downwardly facing shoulder of the shaft and a nut 47 threaded to the reduced lower end of said shaft. The upper plate 21 has a central hub 48 which is rotatively mounted on said shaft 43 .just below the saidgear 45.

As herein shown, there are eight of such They will be locked A guide and steadying bar 35 Said can end lifter units. The gear drive connections between thecentral, fixed gear 45 and the several lifter shafts comprise gears 50 that are fixed to the upper bearing studs 11 of said lifter shafts and idlergears 51, herein shown as mounted to rotate on the pivot studs 16 for the arms 14 and and four other idler gears in a which mesh with said fixed gear and said gears 50.. In an arrangement where eight units are employed, there will be eight of such idler gears, and it is convenient to arrange them in two sets, with four idler gears-spaced 45 apart in an upper plane lower plane, likewise relatively spaced to each other, but with their axes of rotation set midway bet". ti the axes of rotation of the other set. Therefore. each idler gear .will, thro ugh the gears 50, drive the two lifter shafts of a unit in the same proximate threaded sides moving in relatively opposed directions so that the can ends will .be caused to rotate on their own axes located between the axcsof rotation of. the lite-r shafts. of a unit and thereby uniformly present the compound to the drying air that is passed upwardly through the drying chamber. as said: can ends are lifted. t

The drying chamber and driving mechanism described is enclosed by a drum 54: that is non-rotative and is supported on the bed 30 and terminate in a fine through which drying air is discharged from said chamber. Said drum is cylindric and closely fits and is fastened to the cylindric periphery of the bed, as by screws 56. It may include in its structure-one or more hinged doors 54:" (Figures 3 and 4) whereby access may be had to the chamber and to the gears a ove, when, and for any purpose. desired. \Vhen two doors are employed they may be overlapped and fastened together by the hasp latches' 57.

Referring now. to a preferred, though not essential means for introducing dry air to said chamber to cause it to impinge on the can ends passing slowly thercthrough. attention is directed to Figures 1, 2, 4 and I which will now beinore fully described.

5H designates a central, relatively large volume, upstanding. open-ended tube. disosed concentric to the shaft 43 and which is flanged at its open ends for fixed attachment to the gear plate 29 and the rotating plate 21. It constitutes. together with the litter shafts 10. supporting means by which the plate Ql and the gears and levers supported thereon are carried. and also meansby which rotary m vement is transmitted from the rotative g ar'platc to the supporting plate 21. Said central tube is closed at its upper end by the plate 2i and is provided along its length with numerous :iir'cxit openings 3! through which air.

direction, and with their.

among the can ends, to

introduced into the tube through its lower end, is allowed to pass radially into said chamber and against the stacks of can ends.

designates a plurality of smaller, angularly spaced tubes that are supported upon the bed 30 near the periphery thereof and adjacent to the drum wall and rise towards the top.plate 21. Said tubes are closed at their tops, and are provided with. numerous vertically spaced air exit openings 61 arranged to direct air, introduced under proper flow through the lower open ends thereof, towards the stacks of can ends which are revolving past said stationary air tubes.

This arrangement of the inner and outer tubes provides means foreliiciently distributing drying air to the can ends to uniformly dry the films of compound thereon, both by reason of the fact that drying'air is discharged towards both. the inner and outer .sides of the several stacks of can ends. and also because the drying air emitted from opposing directions produces counter currents which, upon impingement. serves to break up stream flow and to cause the air, after the counter currents have passed transversely through the stacks and break up into a more quiescent body of air towards the air discharge around the margin of the'plate 2i and thence to the out-flow flue The air thus handled and controlled produces a much more rapid drying effect on the compound than if it be merely allowed to risefalong the stacks of can ends. Thereby a slow-drying compound can be eliiciently dried in a practical length of drying chamber, having due regard to the weight and stability of the machine. Moreover. the application to the can ends of the drying air, which will be heated to more quicktv evaporate the water in the compound, will be more gentle and there-by avoid. the eil'ect of blistering the films of compound, and also avoid a too rapid drying of the outer faces'of the lilms in a way to leave layers of moisture between predried films and the faces of the end grooves to reccive the lihns.

Drying air is delivered to the lower end .of the central. tube 58 and the lower ends of the surrounding tubes (it) through the medium of any suitablelorm of air moving fan (35, supported by astandard (36 from a spider (56' fixed to the standards 42- and having a pulley 67 by which it may be driven from any suitablesouree of power, Preferably. the drum 5? will extend below the bed 30. as a. separately tormtubskirt (32. a sullicie-ut distance to enclose the. tube inlets and the. fan, and the binding of the tan is such as to lift air through the lower open end of said skirt and direct it upwardly towards th bed 30. The thXififl air pass into the ccntial di tributing tube through openin s 68, 69, respectively, formed in the fixed bed '30 and the rotating gear 29, these openings being sufficiently numerous to permit overlap ing of said openings during rotation of t e gear to afford a substantially continuous flow of air to the central distributing tube. The. lower ends of the tubes 60 are open to the fan chamber within the skirt 62 for the passage of the drying air into said tubes. They are shown as fastened into through sockets formed in the marginal' portions of the bed (Figure 5), said sockets opening downwardly into the fan chamber.

Usually, there will be provided some means for heating the air before it is introduced to the tubes. This may be accomplished by a burner ring suitably mounted above the fan 65 and provided with a supply pipe 76.

runway 78 is arranged at one side of the machine toreceive can ends discharged from the lifter screws and to direct them away from the machine. Said runway is of trough or part eylindrric cross-section throughout its principal length, with its internal cross section somewhat less than a full cylinder. It can be supported on the drum in any suitable manner. An inclined, inwardly flaring chute 79 directs the can ends after they are dislodged outwardly from the upper ends of the lifter shafts to the upper end of the runway, said chute passing through a suitable opening in the drum wall. The upper end of the runway can assume a suitable connecting formation 80 arranged to receive the (an ends directly from the inclined chute 79 and to deliver them to the runway with the rear edges of the can ends trailing while assing through the runway, as shown in *igure 1. Preferably, the top width dimension of the runwayis slightly less than the full diameter of the can ends, so that said ends will, so to speak, pivot near the upper edges of the chute in the inclined position shown in Figure 1. Each can end successively passes or wedges between the floor of the chute and the can end in front and serves to successively raise the ends when arrested by the end wall 81. the angle of which to the lon gitudinal axisv of the runway is favorable to said stack formation.

Any suitable kick-oil means may be vmployed for removing the can ends from the upper lifter shafts to cause them to slide into the chute 79. As heroin shown, the threads of the lifter shafts are terminated at the upper end faces of the shafts, and one shaft of each pair is provided with an eccentric. laterally extending lug 83 which is so located with respect to the end of the lifting thread of its shaft that a can end which. has heretofore been and is then engaged thereby is caused to he unbalanced through the intermediary of i the purpose of disclosure in said Figure 9,

outwardly or dislodged threads and the endfrom the lifting aces of the associated pair of lifter shaftsso that said unbalanced end will fall onto the chute 79 and be therebe dislodged with. certainty and fall onto the fixed chute 79, the inner or wider end of the chute is made of considerably longer transverse dimension than the angular 'stance between pairs of oo-acting lifter shafts.

The cam ends may be fed, either manually or mechanically, to the lifter screws through a feed. opening 85 in the fixed drum wall at the level of the top face of the bed30 and thence over spaced guide ribs 86 of suitable height on the bottom gear late 29, said guide ribs extending between t e lifter shafts to support the can ends until their margins are broughtto supporting position on the lower turns of the lifting threads. The can ends may be'delivei'ed to said feed opening by a chute 87 which may lead from a machine by which the compound is applied to;-the can ends; a plunger 88 reciprooatin through said chute being suitable for sue delivery purposes.

In Figure 9 18 shown a modification of the upper gear train and the means for adjusting the lifter shafts to-difierent diam eter can ends, wherein the ears fixed to the-- upper ends of the lifter s afts are driven directly from a fixed central ear instead of dler gears. For

it can be assumed that the elements of the machine below the top plate 90 is the same as that hereinbefore described, and the lifter shafts and their bearings bear the same reference numeral.

The fixed central gear 91 is of larger diameter than that of the other gear train and it is located above said top plate and is fixed to a central shaft 92 near the upper end of the latter. 93, 94 designate the non-meshing gears associated with the lifter shafts of each unit, said gears being keyed or otherwise fixed to the reduced extensions 11 of said lifter shafts. The reduced extensions ll. of said shafts are mounted to rotate in suitable bearings 95 which are carried by or formed on the arms 96 of two spiders disposed in parallel upper and lower planes. The hubs 97 of said spiders are rotativoly mounted on the upper end of the shaft 92 above the fixed gear 91.

The relation of the arms of the two spiders is such that the non-moshing gears of a pair of lifter shafts of a unit are us-' the shade line distinctions of the gears 93, 94 and said spider arms. It will be understood from the foregoing that the toothed face of the fixed gear 91 will be at least twice as wide as the faces of the lifter gears so as to accommodate adjacent gears in different planes. It will also be evident that the gears of non-adjacent units will thus be located in different, or upper and lower planes, so as not to-clash when said spiders are relatively rocked on the shaft 92 to adjust the lifter shafts to can ends of different diameters. It will furthermore be observed, reason of the integrality of the arms of each spider, that adjustment of all of the shafts for different diameter can ends can be simultaneously effected by grasping any two adjacent arms of the upper and lower spiders which at any time may be located at a door opening. Any suitable means may be employed for locking the spiders in adjusted positions; This can be done in the present instance by providing two adjacent spider arms, one an upper and the other a lower arm, with extensions 97, formed with downturned ends having arcuate slots 98 to receive locking screws 99.

In the construction shown in Figure 9, it will be noted that that one of the lifter shafts of each unit whose side adjacent to its companion shaft is rotating inwardly, is made somewhat larger than the other shaft. This is done so that the differential circumferences of the two shafts of. a pair will have the effect of holding the can ends inwardly against the guide bars. This differential diameter will also be observed in the construction before described, but. owing to the scale of Figures 3 and 4, the differences in diameter do not clearly appear. In order to br ing out this effect. Figure 8 has been added which. indicatesdiagrammatically the differential diameters of the lifter shafts ofeach unit.

It is to he understood that details of construction may be otherwise varied within the spirit and scope of the claims hereto appended and limited only by the prior art. and that it is the intent to claim all of inherent novelty shown in thedrawings and described in the specification.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a can end drying machine. a pair of spaced, threaded, rotative liftershafts, and swinging arms in which said shafts are sup ported to rotate and by which they are adjusted to can ends of dilfercnt diameters.

2.- In a can end drying machine, a pair of spaced, threaded, rota-tive lifter shafts. swinging arms in which they are supported to rotate and by which they are adjusted to can ends of different diameters, and locking means for locking said shafts in adjusted ositions. In a can end drying machine, upper and lowerpairs of arms, with the arms of each pair swingable about a common pivotand carrying a pair of spaced and threaded lifter shafts rotatively mounted at their ends in said bearings and locking means engagingthe arms of one pair to lock said shafts in different adjusted positions to adjust them to can ends of different diameters.

4. In a can end drying machine, a pair of swinging arms swingable about a common pivot and carrying between their ends bearings, a pair of spaced and threaded lifter shafts mounted to rotate in said bearings, apair of non-meshing gears fixed to sai shafts, and a single gear meshing with said pair and constituting part of a driving gear train to rotate said shaftsf 5. In a-. can end drying machine, a pair of swinging arms'swingable about a common pivot and carrying between their ends bearings, 21 pair of spaced and threaded lifter shafts mounted to rotate in said bearings, a pair of non-meshing gears fixed to said shafts, and a single gear meshing with said pair and constituting part of a driving gear train to rotate said shafts, said single gear rotating on the common pivot of said arms.

6. In a can end dryin machine, a pair of swinging arms swingab le about a common pivot. and carrying between their ends bearings, a pair of spaced and threaded lifter shafts mounted to rotate in said bearings, a

air of non-meshing gears fixed to said shafts, an idler gear meshing with said non- .meshing gears, and another gear meshing with said idler gear.

7 A can end drying machine comprising a plurality of can 'end lifter units disposed concentrically about. a common axis, each unit embracing a pair of spaced, rotativc, threaded lifter shafts, and a gear train to rotate said shafts on their axes and to revolve said units about said common axis.

8. A can end drying machine comprising a plurality of can end lifter units disposed between their ends bearings,-

env

concentrically about a common axis, each unit embracing apair of spaced, rotative, -threaded lifter shafts, a gear train to rotate said shafts on their axes and to revolve said units about said common axis, and means to adjust the shafts of each pair towards and from each other to adapt the machine to can ends of different diameters.

9. A can end drying machine comprising a plurality of can end lifter units disposed concentrically about a common. axis, each unit embracing a pair ofspaced, rotativc, threaded lifter shafts, a gear train to rotate said shafts on their axes and to revolve said units about said common axis, a drum enclosing said units and means for circulating drying air through said drum and among can ends supportcd on the lifter shafts of said unitsb 10. A can end drying machine comprisinga plurality .of can end lifter units dispose concentrically about a common axis, each unit embracing a pair of spaced, rotative,

unit embracing'a pair of spaced, rotative,

' threaded lifter shafts between which the can ends are raised in superposed stacked relation, a gear train to rotate said shafts on their axes and to revolve said units about said common axis, drying air tubes surrounding, and enclosed in the area within, said stacks, and means for directing drying air into said tubes.

12. A can endglrying machine comprising a drum enclosing a drying chamber, means for slowl raising cans in spaced, stack formation t rough said chamber, and means for discharging drying air laterally through the spaces between said can ends.

'13. A can end drying machine comprising a drum enclosing a drying chamber, means for slowly raising cans in spaced, stack formation through said chamber, and means at opposite sides of said stack formation for directing counter currents of drying air towards and through said stack formation and for breaking up lateral stream flow of said air.

14. A can end drying machine comprising -a drum enclosing a drying chamber, means for slowlyraising cans in spaced, stack formation through said chamber, means at opposite sides of said stack formation for directing counter currents of drying air towards and through said stack formation and for breaking up lateral stream flow of said air, and means for causing the drying air to rise through said drum and escape at ,the top thereof.

15. A can end drying machine comprisin a plurality of can end lifter units disposed concentrically about common axis, each embracing a pair of spaced, rctative, threaded lifter shafts, a gear train to rotate said shafts on their axes and to revolve said units about said common axis, a perforated air distrilmtcr pipe within the space surrounded by said units, a pluralityof perforated air distributer pipes surrounding said units and means for directing; air in an upward flow through said tubes.

16. in a can end drying machine, a )air of threaded. rotatii' li shafts. the threads of which engage and support can ends and 'hy rotation thereof lift. the can ends in vcrtically spaced stack formation, and means carried by and eccentric to one of said shafts.

to engage and dislodge can ends from said three. 5.

17. In a can end drying machine, a air of threaded rotative. lifter shafts, the t reads of which engage and support can ends and by rotation thereof lift the can ends in vertically spaced stack formation, the threads of said lifter shafts extending to the upper end faces thereof and a knock-out'pro ection on and eccentric to one of said end faces, to'engage and dislodge the can endsfrom said threads.

18. In a can end drying machine, a drying chamber, means to, lift the can ends therethrough in vertically spaced stack formation, automatic means to dislodge can ends from the upper end of said stack formation, and a runway toreceive said can ends and direct them from-the machine and provided at its receiving end with a flaring, inclined chute to directl receive the dislodged ends and to deliver them to said runway.

19. In a can end drying machine, a circular series of units revoluble about a common center, each unit comprising a air of thread: ed, rotative, lifter shafts, t e threads of which engage and support can ends and by rotation thereof lift the can ends in vertically spaced stack formation, means carried by a shaft of each pair to engage and dislodge can ends from said air of shafts, and a stationary chute to receive saiddislodged ends, said chute having a Wide inwardly divergent receiving end and tapered outwardly, the receiving end of the chute being of a width greater than the angular spacing of the shafts of a pair.

cans as they are dislodged and to transfer them to said runway.

21. In a can and drying machine, a drying chamber, means to lift can ends in vertically spaced stack formation and means to transfer can ends away from the top of said stack formation comprising a part cylindric, upwardl opening runway, means to direct can ends rom the top of said formation to the upper end of said runway and a stop at the lower epd of and at an angle to said runway to group said can ends on edge at said lower end of said runway.

22. A can end drying machine comprising an upright drying chamber, a revoluble series of can end lifter units disposed concentrically about the axis of said chamber, each embracing a pair of rotati e, threaded lifter shafts provided with non-meshinggears, a; fixed gear above and co-axial with said dl ying chamber, idler gears meshing with said fixed gear and said non-meshing gears, and

means to revolve said latter gears and saididler gears around'said fixed gear.

24. A can end drying macliinecom rising an upright drying chamber, a revolu le series of can end lifter units disposed concentrically about the axis of said chamber, each embracing a pair of rot-ative, threaded lifter shaftsprovided with non-meshing gears, a fixed gear above and co-axial with said dr ing chamber, idler gears meshing with said fixed gear and said non-meshing gears, means to revolve said latter gears and said idler gears around said fixed gear, each said units comprising also swinging levers pivoted on the axis of rotation of the associated idler gear'of said unitin which said lifter shafts have rotational-bearing, whereby said shafts may be adjusted to can ends of different diameters, and means to lock said levers and thereby said shafts in adjusted posi-' tions.

25. A can end drying machine comprising a bed, a drying chamber drum fixed to and rising from said bed,- a bottom gear mounted to rotate on said bed, with means to drive it, a rotative top plate co-axial with said chamber and gear, a'ciroular series of lifter units extending between and supported on said bottom gear and said top plate, each comprising two rotative threaded liftershafts extending through said top plate, a

fixed gear centrally above said top plate,

non-mcshing gears fixed to the upper. ends of the lifter shafts of each unit and idler gears mounted on said top plate and meshing with said fixed gear and with said lifter shaft gears.

A can end drying machine comprising a bed, a drying chamber drum fixed td and rising from said bed, a bottom gear mounted torotate on said bed, with means to drive it, a rotative top plate co-axial with said chau'iber and gear, a circular series of litter units extending between and supported nature this 6th day of December, 1923.

on said bottom gear and said top plate, each comprising upper and lower pairs of levers supported on and pivoted, respectively, to

said top plate and said bottom gear and provided between their ends with bearings, a pair of threaded lifter shafts rotatively mounted in said lever bearings, and a train of gears operative through rotation of said bottom gear to rotate the liftershafts of each pair to liftcan ends engaging their threads and to revolve said series of units.

27. A can end drying machine comprising a bed,a. drying chamber drum fixed to and rising from said bed, a bottom gear mounted .to rotate on said bed, with means to drive it, a .rotat-ive top plate co-axial with'said chamber and gear, a circular series of lifter units extending between and supported 'on said bottom gear and saidtop plate, each comprising upper and lower pairs of leverssupported on and pivoted, respectively, to said top plate and said bottom gear and provided between their ends with bearings, and a pair of threa'ded lifter shafts rotatively'mounted in'said lever bearings, a fixed gear centrally above said top plate, non-meshing gears fixed to the upper ends of the lifter shafts of each unit, and idler gears rotative about the pivotal axes of said levers and meshing jwith said fixed gear and with said lifter shaft gears.

28. A can end drying machine comprising a bed, a'drying chamber drum fixed to and rising from said bed, a bottom gear mounted to rotate on saidfbed, with means to drive it, a rotative top plate co-axial with said chamber, and gear, a circular series of litter units extending between and supported on said bottom gear and said top plate, 'each comprising two rotative threaded lifter shafts extending through said top plate, a fixed gear centrally above said top plate, lion'- meshing gears fixed to the upper ends of the lifter shaftsof each unit, idler gears-mounted on said top plate and meshing with said fixed gear and with said lifter shaft gears, a central, perforated air tube extending between and fixed to the centers of said bottom gear and top plate,--a plurality of tubes fixed to the bed and extending upwardly therefrom radially outside of said units, and means to deliver drying air to said tubes.

29. In a can end drying machine, a pair of spaced, threaded, rotative lifter shafts with means to rotate them in the same di- GUSTAV W. I-TIIDSTROM. 

